


Off the cuff

by Blueyedgurl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Ben Solo, Awkwardness, Boss/Employee Relationship, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Oral Sex, Prompt Fill, Sharing a Bed, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:22:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25569688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueyedgurl/pseuds/Blueyedgurl
Summary: @reylo_prompts  Poe gets Ben a stripper for closing a business deal.  Ben reluctantly takes part to not waste Poe's money.  The stripper hand cuffs him and robs him of clothes and money.  Rey heads back to the office late night and finds her hot boss cuffed to the office chair in nothing but his tie.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 28
Kudos: 222
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	1. Chapter 1

This was the worst moment of his life. Leave it to fucking Poe to get him the stripper your father always warned you about. 

Why did he always have to be the last one to leave work. How the hell was he going to explain this to whoever found him?  
What if no one found him? How long could he go without water anyways? And by Monday he’d definitely be covered in his own filth. Maybe he’d die of dehydration and he wouldn’t have to live to see it.

He was going to murder Poe, absolutely. Yes, he’s made that threat before but this time he actually meant it. If he died he’d haunt him for the rest of his life. But right now he was alive so he still had time to plan Poe’s slow and torturous death. Then he’d hide his body in the woods somewhere where nobody could find him. 

Why did he think that stripper actually wanted to fuck him? Poe got him a stripper not a prostitute. God his mother was right. He hated when she was right. Men only think with one thing and he did exactly that.

Was he going to be stuck here all weekend? Cuffed to his desk chair. He suddenly had regrets about demanding they change his doorknob back to being round from that French style handle, it’s just that his assistant was always catching her clothes on it. It just seemed like such an inconvenience for her.

She did blush prettily every time her sleeve or the pocket of her cardigan got caught on the door. But if he was being honest that’s why he was in this mess. The lady who robbed him had the brunette hair and the tan skin. However, she was missing the freckles, and her eyes were a dark brown and not a hazel. Rey also just wouldn’t run off with his clothes and wallet and leave him to die.

He racked his brain to try to remember if anyone was coming in this weekend. He didn’t think so and his shoulders slumped. Leave it to Hux to take away everyone’s overtime incentives. 

That’s when he heard it, the slam of a door, he scooted his way across his office and kicked at the door with his bare foot. He really shouldn’t have worn his nicest pair of shoes. He’d learn his lesson.

“Hello!” He bellowed. Hoping the other person would hear him.

“Ben! Is that you?”

Shitshitshitshitshitshitfuckfuckfuckdamnit. Why was this his life. Why?

“Rey! Don’t-“ Too late. Leave it to her to just waltz into his office like she owned the place. 

He tried to turn his chair, but the arm collided with the door as she opened it. He yelled out in surprise. The force of the door spinning the chair to give Rey a full view of his naked and flaccid dick in his lap.

“OH MY GOD!” Rey said as she averted her eyes. “You’re naked, why are you naked?”

He was now the disgusting boss who showed his hot employee his dick and he would give up killing Poe if he could just be dead instead. Maybe there would be an earthquake in the next three seconds and the earth could just swallow him up.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He was trying to scoot the chair away from her to hide behind his desk, where he could just live. She could throw him food and hose him down on occasion.

“Can you explain to me what’s going on.” There was a tone in her voice that she was trying to control herself, hold something back. Tears? Laughter? Disgust? He really didn’t want to know.

“So, I closed that deal.” Rey looked back at him again now that he was safely tucked behind his desk. 

“Congratulations, Ben that’s such good news!” Leave it to Rey to be really supportive in a situation like this. She’d probably be really supp,ortive of exhibitionists in trench coats, too.

“Then, Poe bought me a stripper.”

“Of course, he did, that is just inappropriate enough… But why are you naked?” There was a darker tone… Disappointment? Anger? Jealousy? No. Rey wouldn’t be jealous.

“She acted like she wanted to have sex with me?” He knew it was the dumbest sounding answer on the planet, but it was the only one he had.

“Prostitution is illegal in this state. Even though sex work is a valid form of work.” She said matter-of-fact.

“Well, I don’t think she was an actual sex worker. Since she took my clothes, my wallet and my phone.”

“You couldn’t call from your office phone?” He blushed and peered over his desk at the floor. Rey’s eyes followed his.

“Oh. How did that happen?”

“That may have been when I tried to clean my desk off.”

He did not miss the look of pity on her face.

“Oh, Ben.”

“I’m so sorry you had to see this Rey.” He said with what he hoped came off as a genuine amount of shame.

“So, what were you going to do?” Her eyebrows raised in concern.

“Stay here all weekend and hope I died waiting for Monday.” That’s how he usually spent his weekend anyway. Waiting until Monday.

She tsked at him.

“Well, let’s figure out how to get you out of here, then.”

He watched as she took off the scarf and jacket that she was wearing and walked over to him with her eyes averted. She was blushing wildly, but he couldn’t really blame her, he was no better off. When she had him covered, she looked at him and gave a sigh and started pulling her hair down out of the buns.

His heartbeat wildly and he panicked. What was she doing?

“Ummm, Rey?” His mouthwas dry, and he swallowed thickly.

She looked at him as if aware what that just might look like to him.

“Oh, no… I’m…” she stammered. “I’m just getting a couple of bobby pins to unlock the cuffs.”

Ben heaved a sigh of relief. If Rey was interested in sex with him, he wanted his hands free so he could touch her. 

She kneeled next to him and he had to will his dick to stay flaccid for about a million reasons. Between the adrenaline, Rey’s presence, her breath fanning over the skin of his arm and her kneeling on the fucking ground next to him he was about to lose what remained of his dignity. His willed himself to think of things he hated. So, he thought of Hux’s weekly reports and Poe’s behaviors at family gatherings, his parent’s need to discuss their youth spent in the backseat of the falcon.

“Ah. There we have one.” She unlocked the one cuff and he instantly felt relief. She had to swivel his chair around so she could access the other cuff without bending over his lap and that was an image he had to shove away to a dark corner for later.

“Rey, where did you learn to do that?” He asked as she freed him from the second cuff.

She shrugged and looked away from him. “Long story boss man, don’t worry about it.” She said in that off handed way that made it very hard get to know her.

“I would like to know.” He said, rubbing his wrists. “I think I owe you dinner for this, once I get out of here and have access to an ATM anyway.”

She chuckled.

“So, what are you going to do for clothes?” She asked him.

“The first of many questions since she took my clothes, my keys, my wallet and my phone.”

“We’ll I guess you’ll be coming home with me.” Rey said without missing a beat.

“You don’t have to, Rey.”

“It’s not a bother. I still have your dry cleaning at my house, I didn’t leave in time to drop it off on my way to dinner tonight.”

“Dinner? Did I ruin your plans for the evening?”

“Oh, no. Just dinner with Finn and Rose. I forgot my purse, but they were able to cover me until next time.” She said off handedly. “That’s why I came in. So, I could grab it.”

“Now, how are we going to get you to the car?”

“Well, if you give me a minute, I think I can make this jacket and scarf work for me. If you can get me that pashmina that’s on the back of your chair?” He asked her.

“Oh, yes I forget I have that.” She paused and looked him a moment before going back out to her desk and coming in and tossing it at him.

“Now, you go get the car and pull it out front and I will be there in a moment.”

“Oooo! I’ve always wanted to be the get away driver. How very Bonnie and Clyde of us.” Rey said enthusiastically and Ben actually laughed. Maybe it wasn’t terrible Rey had found him.

Rey shut his door behind her and he stood up and wrapped her pashmina around his waist, he tugged the coat on. It was a tight fit and he used the scarf to cover his chest. He had fleeting memories of romcoms where someone left a restroom with a stall door in hand. How on earth did this happen in real life?

The things Rey had were obviously not made for him. The coat went past his hip but didn’t close. The pashmina covered went from waist to upper thigh but because of the way it was wrapped it left nothing to the imagination. The scarf just seemed ridiculous, but he felt the need to be covered by something. He made a mental note to get her a gift card to Macy’s, she’d have to burn all of this stuff after he was done with it.

As he made his way through the office, he hoped that the lights were low enough that the security cameras wouldn’t see his walk of shame. When stepped out into the darkened parking lot, Rey was as close to the building as she could get, the door already open for him.

“Ready?” She asked him when he got in. He knew he had to look absurd, but he gave Rey credit for not laughing. Though her lips were pulled so tightly into her mouth that he was waiting for her to bite through them.

“Yes, please.” He tried to sit comfortably but it just couldn’t be done.

“I apologize in advance for the state of my apartment, I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Oh, I think the state of your housekeeping is the least of my problems.”

She snorted a laugh but overall maintained her composure.

They pulled up to an old house that had been turned into apartments. It wasn’t kept up very well, but he pushed that thought away.

Rey led him through a side door and up the stairs. She unlocked a door and they made their way up a narrow stairway that opened up to an attic apartment.

“So, this is me. Sorry, it’s not very big. Your clothes are there.” She pointed to them draped over the railing that blocked off the stairs. “And the bathroom is there.” It was really the only door in the place aside from the accordion doors blocking the closets and the kitchen. 

“Here.” She handed him her phone. “Call whoever you need to call. I’m going to go make myself scarce in the kitchen.” She paused her head tilted. “Did you eat?”

“Yeah. I did. Thank you.” She nodded and went and shut herself in the kitchen while Ben picked up his clothes, choosing one of his softer suit pants and his white button up. He was so glad that this was one of the tasks Rey managed for him. It was a life saver today.

He got dressed, carefully hanging her things on the back of the bathroom door. 

He called his apartment manager first. They would not be able to get a lock smith to change the locks until Monday, even if he paid the extra fee. He called his credit card companies and bank to have them cancel any new transactions. He called his Cell phone company to report his phone. They were rally less than helpful. The dealership also told him, no new keys until Wednesday. He called Poe who laughed heartily and said that he was at the airport and would be gone until Sunday night. And when he called his parents, they told him they were on a last-minute cruise. 

He thought about calling the police but decided against it. Realizing he had been through enough embarrassment for his lifetime.

He wanted to cry he was so frustrated, but he swallowed it down. Opting instead to go let Rey know that she would be stuck with him for the duration of her weekend.

He walked out to the open living space and sat in the small lumpy armchair, he realized then that there was only one bed and he felt his stomach roll with anxiety. 

A little while later Rey came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. 

“Well, that’s a little more presentable. What did you learn?”

“That my family is unreliable, and I’ve never been more grateful to having hired you than I am today. And that you are stuck with me until Monday. But if that sounds awful, I will go back and stay at the office. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept on that questionable couch in the staff lounge.” He rambled out. 

“Oh, no. You’re fine here really.” She glanced at the bed.

“I can take the floor, really. I don’t want to inconvenience you at all.” Ben stammered out.

“I can’t make my boss sleep on the floor. Not after the shit day you’ve had.”

“Sweetheart, I was going to spend it cuffed to my desk chair, this is really an improvement I swear to you.” She tilted her head at him again, she did that sometimes. Usually if he put his foot in his mouth like right now.

“Well, if you’re going to be sleeping here, I might have something more comfortable than work clothes for you to sleep in.” She opened one of the closet doors to reveal a dresser. She dug around and pulled out plaid sleep pants and an old t-shirt and tossed them at him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, Rey was tiny compared to him. “I mean you’ll be flooding, and that shirt might be a crop top on you, but it’s the best I have.” She shrugged. 

He nodded taking his new outfit to the bathroom strip out of his clothes for the 3rd time that night.

When he came back out this time Rey had laid out a sleeping bag with some blankets and a couple of pillows on the floor for him.

“What do you want to watch?” He could tell she was trying to not look amused when she looked at him.

“Whatever you want, you’re the boss here.” He quipped.

She flipped through Netflix before deciding on some zombie movie. 

“This ok?” 

“Whatever you want.” He rearranged the blankets before settling in. The story was basically Pride and Prejudice with Zombies and when he said that to Rey she laughed and told him that is exactly what it was called.

“But they bastardized a classic.” He said when the movie was over.

“It’s funny and a good time. You’re so serious.” She did that thing where she called him something stuffy but then quirked her lip up like it was fun for her to tease him.

He sighed, accepting defeat. 

She put on another show, a series this time and it wasn’t long before both of them were asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben woke to someone stumbling around in the kitchen. He could see their silhouette against the window, illuminated by the streetlight outside. That was definitely _not_ Rey. He listened to see if he could hear Rey breathing in the bed above him. Based on the even breaths, she wasn’t even aware there was a strange man in her apartment.

Who dared to break into Rey’s house? This couldn’t be happening. He wouldn’t let it happen, not on his watch anyway. He crept up slowly trying to avoid making any noise, especially the rustle of the sleeping bag. He watched as the intruder turn back towards the kitchen, seemingly unaware of his presence. 

Ben crouched low remembering his childhood of Sunday morning games of catch with Dad and his uncles in the yard. Preparing for impact he kept low and head down and tackled the son of a bitch right onto the linoleum.

“Ow! What the fuck!” The man bellowed. The audacity of home invaders.

Ben had him pinned on his stomach hands pinned at his side.

“Ben, what?!” Rey turned the light on. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Ben heard Rey shout at the straining form under him. The guy might have been a comparable weight to him but Ben worked out and had him on strength.

“Who me?” Asked the man under Ben.

“Yes, you. We’re broken up remember?” Ben looked up to see that she was beyond angry. She looked a Ben a bit wearily before saying. “Ben, thank you but get off of him, please.”

Ben’s brain finally caught up. Rey knew him this guy. It wasn’t some random intruder. So, Ben reluctantly complied. Was she seeing someone? No, he just heard her say they broke up. He remembered she had broken up with someone but didn’t know the details. There was a period of time a few months back where Rey would sadly stare at her desk and eat a lot of chocolate. He knew she ate a lot of chocolate because he had found the stash that she had hid in one of the drawers of her filing cabinet. Ben made sure to bring her coffee in the morning for a few weeks just to help her keep going.

Ben tried not to feel too smug about her not being happy to see this guy.

“Snap. How did you get in here?” Rey asked, her arms crossed against her chest. Ben probably should have shut himself in the kitchen. However, he was not going to leave Rey alone with a guy who just wandered into her apartment like he owned the place at 3am. Honestly, who breaks into their ex’s apartment in the middle of the night and rummages through their kitchen. Assholes, that’s who.

“I have a key.” He seemed to say that rather indignantly and Ben saw that that was a mistake.

“I never gave you a key.” Rey said in a dangerously low growl.

“Sure, you did. When I watered the plants for you that one time.” 

“I let you borrow my actual set of keys. If you made copies, I need them right now or I’m calling the cops.”

“Don’t do that. You know I’m on paper.” The guy practically whined.

“You should have thought of that before you tried to buy weed from that undercover cop.”

“Let’s not bring up the past, baby.” Ben had to stifle a laugh because in his lifetime he had witnessed many fights, and this guy was losing spectacularly. Part of him wanted to call his dad.

“Give me the key and get out.” Rey demanded, holding her hand out.

“But I just wanted to see if you had-“ Rey immediately cut him off. This wasn’t their first post-break up argument.

“I dropped off everything of yours at your mother’s.” Rey growled out. The guy paused a minute trying to find his footing.

“That guy assaulted me!” The man pointed at Ben, finally realizing he was losing and getting desperate. Ben stood up to his full height, Rey was right the shirt didn’t quite meet the pants. He felt a bit silly but hoped that his size and the implication that he was wearing her clothes would get through to him. Maybe, the guy would get the hint and stay away for good.

“I’d do it again, too.” Ben grumbled, leaning forward in a non-verbal threat.

Rey gave Ben a stern look and he backed off again, properly chastised.

“Just get out. There’s nothing here for you.”

“Fine.” The guy turned to leave.

“Nu-uh. The key.”

He fished it out of his pocket and tossed it at her and went down the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

“Bastard.” Rey muttered before turning to him. She took in a deep breath. “You tackled him?” 

“I thought he was an intruder.” Ben said to defend himself.

Rey gave an amused chuckle, sighed and shook her head.

“Well, I guess we’re even. I saw you naked and you saw my latest reason to swear off men.” 

Ben gave a half-hearted chuckle.

“The perfect pair we make. Maybe we should introduce him to the stripper.” Rey teased as she smiled wryly at him.

“I’ll have Poe give her a call.” Ben said.

“It’s only three, back to sleep?” Rey asked around a yawn.

Ben nodded and crawled back into his makeshift bed. When he got comfortable, he looked up to see Rey peering down at him.

“Thank you.” She said, quietly. Her tone was almost sad.

“Oh ho ho no. You saved me from the most embarrassing moment of my life. I’m afraid I’ll be tackling home invading ex-boyfriends for the next decade to make up for that.” 

He watched as her face scrunched up, like it did when she was amused. 

“Deal. Goodnight, Ben.”

“Night. Rey.”

When morning came, he woke up to the smell of coffee and sunlight streaming through the Kitchen window.

“You’re up, want some breakfast?” She asked as she stepped out of the bathroom toweling off her hair. 

“Sure. You should probably keep track of everything I eat, so you know what I owe you for all of this.” He said as he picked himself up off the floor.

“Hmm, maybe just keep me in coffee for few weeks.”

“That, I would gladly do.” He’d gladly do it for life if it wouldn’t be creepy and a bit cliché to go after his personal assistant. Unlike Poe he tried hard not to be a walking HR nightmare.

She smiled in that way that was distinctly Rey. It was one of his favorite things about her.

“Eggs and toast okay with you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Their morning passed rather comfortably. 

He changed into his work clothes Rey turned the bed into a makeshift couch pushing it against the wall so they could both lean against it, and nobody had to sit on the lumpy chair.

He tried not to think about being in his employee’s bed. More specifically Rey’s bed. But it was difficult when the blankets and pillows smelled like her or when she’d move and bump into him. 

After dinner when they ate ice cream and she had a drop of chocolate just on the edge of her bottom lip. He watched in horror as he reached his hand out and wiped the offending smudge off with his thumb. He was pretty sure he stopped breathing. Rey just watched and she did that thing again where she tilted her head and crinkled his eyes. Why was he so awkward?

She bit her lip. He took a deep breath to regain some of his composure.

“Sorry.”

“No worries, I’ve been told that I’m the messiest eater in the galaxy.” Her face breaking into a smile.

They watched the rest of their movie in silence after that, Rey’s hands fidgeted in her lap and he had every urge to reach over and still them for her. 

Did he ruin things with the ice cream thing? Was she just waiting now for this weekend to be over so she could get him out of her hair? He hoped not. After a break to change and wash up for bed they put on another scary movie, only this one was way more intense than the one the night before. A few times Rey jumped and reached her hand out and gripped his thigh. He pulled the blanket over him. The last thing his battered ego needed, was Rey seeing him have an awkward boner like some damned teenager.

They were nearing the end of the movie when he felt Rey’s lean into his shoulder. He looked down to see she had fallen asleep. He was terrified to move, scared he’d wake her and make things awkward. Part of him was also committed to not moving because he was an idiot who was in love with his secretary. That part was willing to stay like this until the world ended. The other part wanted to stay because he didn’t really want to disturb her and make her feel bad. So, he just accepted his fate of staying there until she woke up or moved on her own.

He tried not to get his hopes up and think that it was intentional on her part. He was pretty sure she was just tired, and forgot it was him sitting next to her. So, when the credits rolled and the tv went back to the synopsis screen, he found himself drifting off too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get heated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a NSFW chapter and you'll probably get 2 more chapters after this.

It was morning when he woke up. Ben woke to Rey laying mostly on top of him. Her head was pillowed on his chest and her body was wedged between him and the wall. His arm was numb from the weight and the awkward angle and his other hand had somehow found the gap between her shirt and sleep pants where it was now pressed against her soft skin. 

He was a bad person. He was her boss and she was his employee. He had no right to be touching her like this but then she stirred and stretched. As he watched from above, she smiled and snuggled in before looking up at him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realized.” She said, looking sad as she got up off him.

“It wasn’t a problem really. I think we fell asleep and…. It wasn’t a problem… There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.” He stammered, struggling to keep eye contact and he watched her face turn a bit steely. He watched in defeat as she took her phone and disappeared to the bathroom. 

Maybe she was going to text her friend about how her boss had groped her in her sleep. Maybe she was going to call a friend to come save her from all of this. They only had 24 hours left and she could drive him to his apartment so he could get keys and he could maybe figure out the rest. Shit, she was going to have to drive him around until he got his car keys. He let out a heavy sigh and heaved himself off the bed.

The least he could do is make her coffee. He looked through her cupboards until he found what he was looking for and poured coffee grounds into the filter. He had just set it to brew when he heard a scream and a crash from the bathroom.

“Rey?” He practically shouted, suddenly panicked.

He walked towards the bathroom door and he could hear her panting breaths on the other side.

“Rey?” He rapped on the door. Would he have to kick it in? That seemed a little dramatic, but his heart was beating in his ears, he had that he was willing to go to those lengths.

“Rey? If you don’t open this door or talk to me by the time, I count to 5 I’m coming in. I just need to know that you’re ok.”

His heart was in his throat.

“1…2…3….4….5… Rey I’m-“ But the door opened and there Rey was. Tears down her cheeks and withdrawn. He peered into the bathroom and saw a shampoo bottle exploded in the shower stall.

“I’m sorry, if I worried you.” She mumbled at the ground.

He didn’t know what to do. His hands itched from watching her stand there and he felt helpless. So, he did what he wanted to do. He’d already broken several work-boss boundaries. What was one more? He put his hands on her shoulders and when she didn’t flinch away, he pulled her the rest of the way to him. Cupping the back of her head with one hand while the other braced across her shoulder blades, to cup her other shoulder.

“What’s wrong, please tell me, Rey. Did I do something? I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I swear. I fell asleep and I woke up just a few moments before you. I swear. I’ll leave if you’re uncomfortable with me being here.” 

She sniffled and pulled away, looking him in the eye.

“It wasn’t that.” She shook her head, her frustration was obvious. “I got a text, from my old foster brother. Our foster dad died.” She let out another sob and he pulled her back to him, in an attempt to console her.

“I’m so sorry, Rey.”

“No, he was awful. I hated him. I’m not sad… I just… I’m so angry.” He held her tighter. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked quietly.

“You don’t want to hear my sob story Ben.” He took in a deep breath.

“I do though. You’re one of my all-time favorite people.”

“You’re just saying that because I saved you.” She said as she pulled away, looking him over appraisingly.

“Nope. I’ll prove it.” He gestured for her to sit on the chair. “l bet I can pick your favorite mug, make your coffee the way you like it, and pick a movie you actually like.”

She squinted. 

“Deal.” She said skeptically.

So, Ben did one of his favorite activities, proving he was right. He opened the cupboard to see about a dozen mugs. Who had this many mugs and lived alone? He left the ones that were promotional and small to regular sized. Then he was left with about 6 mugs. There was one with super-heroes, one with a dog on it and they were close seconds. But then he saw it. It was the one. He picked up an oversized mug that had a soft and floral pattern but was actually subversive by having curse words on it. He poured her a cup of coffee finding her creamer in the fridge. When he picked up coffee for her it was usually lattes or iced coffees so home brewed coffee was different. He poured and stirred the concoction until it looked like the right color. He took it out to her for her inspection.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he knew he had the mug right. She took a sip and seemed to contemplate that before nodding over to the media stand. He considered it but saw they were all secondhand purchases from video stores. He decided to move straight to the Netflix. 

He pulled up a movie that made him think of Rey whenever he came across it.

“This.” He said setting down the remote triumphantly.

“How?!” She was either mad or exasperated but it didn’t matter because he won. 

“I see you drink coffee for about 4 hours a day, I’m not that unobservant nor am I actually that busy. The mug, it looks cute and soft but it’s really snarky, much like the lady that is currently holding said mug. And Leap Year?” He gestured towards the tv. “It’s funny and has all of the romance tropes that your lunch break books have, and the guy has an accent that I think most women enjoy.” She looked at him wide eyed.

“What?” He asked shrugging his shoulders.

“Lunch break books?” She looked a bit appalled.

Oh…

“Well… you know… sometimes you leave them on your desk, or I can see the title sitting inside your bag…”

“You look them up?” She covered her face with the hand that did not have coffee in it.

“I was curious?”

“This is embarrassing.”

“Why? Work is boring, it’s good you have something fun to distract you.”

“Do you look up the book choices of your other employees and coworkers?”

“No. I don’t like them nearly as much as I like you.” It was like having an out of body experience as he was saying the words. He heard them as they left his body but could do nothing to stop them as they tumbled from his mouth.

That seemed to get her attention and she looked at him wide eyed for a good long minute. He wasn’t going to detract it. He stood there as brave as he was able.

“Ok, I’ll talk to you. But we should eat first.” Rey said, as if she was reluctant. Ben nodded eagerly already making his way to the kitchen.

“You’re just gonna help yourself to my kitchen?”

“Yes. Eggs and toast, alright?”

“Sure.” He could hear the questioning tone in her voice. Like she didn’t believe he was really doing this.

After they ate Rey curled up on the bed and Ben sat down next to her. He genuinely was interested in her life. 

“So.” She said, stalling. He noticed the moment where she decided to dive in. “My foster father, if you’d want to call him that, is the reason I know how to pick locks. There were a few of us that lived with him over the 3 years that I did. Lesson number one was keeping your mouth shut. Lesson number two was to earn your keep. And lesson number three was to take up useful skills, like lock picking, forgery, anything that brought in extra money Luckily, I never got caught. Teedo, my foster brother did a few times. So, he got stuck in that life and stayed in contact with Plutt, my foster dad.” She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as if deciding how to continue. “So, when Teedo sent that text today it just reminded me of everything. How I ended up with him, what I had to go through while I was there. The struggle to stay afloat and not resort to old habits when I left…” She trailed off and seemed to stare into space, as if trapped in that world. 

Ben sat there quietly, waiting to see if she’d continue. When she didn’t, he picked up her hand that had been resting in her lap.

“Sometimes, I feel like I don’t deserve this.” She said, staring into the void.

“Deserve what?” He asked, a bit confused.

“This place, my job… working for you.” He was genuinely confused now. Her apartment was ok, but not exactly a penthouse overlooking central park, and her job was ordinary. Working for him had to be a nightmare on an average day, he could be an asshole on a good day and that was when he wasn’t being awkward or demanding.

“You work hard, you’re sweet and kind. Rey you deserve everything.” She looked at him as if she was examining him and then all at once before he could register what was happening, she was in his lap and her mouth was on his. 

He was dumbfounded for a moment until he noticed her pull away and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her there, unsure of how to go forward but not wanting her to slip away.

She pressed her mouth back against his and deepened the kiss. He pulled her tighter against him, realizing it felt better than he had sept all that time imagining. He felt her hands slide into his hair and she let out a breathy moan. Their tongues slid together, and it was perfect, it was bliss. Ben was lost in the moment as her body pressed against his. 

When she pulled back a second time, he cupped her jaw, his thumb cresting the apple of her cheek. Her hazel eyes were looking up at him as if trying to determine his reaction and he leaned down to kiss her again just to let her know that it was definitely something he wanted to be doing. 

That was until his conscience reminded him that he was her boss, and this was inappropriate. He pulled away hastily, muttering his apologies.

“I’m sorry, Rey. This is not appropriate of me. I’m your boss and this isn’t ok… I… I…” He looked up at her and she looked a bit incredulous.

“But I kissed you!” She exclaimed at him.

“I know… I just… I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking advantage of you.” He said nervously.

“Are you taking advantage of me?” She asked curiously.

He was taken aback by that.

“No, of course not. I would hate myself if I did something like that, especially to you.”

“Then why is this bad.” She gestured between them. “I swear, you act like you’re interested in me, sometimes. But then you pull away or act all polite and proper and I just want you to tell me what you actually want.” Her eyes had gone a bit fiery and he was gone for her. “You’re infuriating, you know that don’t you?” She was nearly shouting at him now and he felt like he had no choice but to tell the truth. 

“I like you. I have since the first day you walked in, in all of your glory.” He smirked at the memory of Rey barging into his office, causing him to spill his coffee all over that copy of Hux’s report and it had to be reprinted. 

“I made a mess, I thought you were going to fire me.” 

“Honestly, I thought about it. But I decided to give you a second chance and I haven’t regretted it. Except, that I would rather not be your boss. I’d rather be other things.”

Her features softened.

“Like what?” She asked him.

He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, he had already kissed her, and she was still sitting here in front of him. What was the harm in being honest?

“I want to date you.” He said as he settled his hands at her waist. “But if you don’t want to date me that’s fine. I can accept that. But if we date, we’d need to go to HR.”

“I wouldn’t get fired?” Rey asked quietly.

Ben snorted. “No, I would be the one that would face consequences, if there were any. Poe’s slept with half of the office and has seemed to avoid any and all trouble. I just, would want to make sure you’re protected, even if that means from me.”

“From you?”

“If things were to go poorly.”

“And why would they go poorly?”

“Because I’m a pretentious asshole. I’m awkward. A mess in general. I will be late to dinner at least once a week because of work, and after this weekend my credit score may tank.”

“But Ben, I know all about your rough edges and I accept them. You’ve never treated me bad. Even when that coffee spilled you were understandably irritable, but you weren’t mean. You’ve been nice to me don’t think I didn’t notice that you bought me coffee for weeks when I was going through that breakup. All without getting in my business, you just were nice and supportive without being pushy or nosy. You…”

He didn’t need to hear more. He had heard just enough. He leaned in to kiss her pulling her back into his lap like she had been when she had kissed him. It was more intense, Rey tugging his hair nipping at his bottom lip. His hands palmed her ass to draw her closer, he was already hard for her. Torn between letting her know it and wanting to hold off to make sure that’s what she wanted.

She made it so he really didn’t have to decide. One hand moved from his hair, trailing down his torso and palmed the hard length pressing against the front of the all too tight sleep pants. 

He groaned into her mouth and bucked his hips into her, before moving to let her straddle him outright. 

She ground herself against him, panting into his mouth as they kissed. Ben groaned and slid his hands up her back, gathering her shirt as he went. Rey raised her arms so he could pull it over her head and she wasted no time before crashing back into his mouth. 

Ben’s hands roved her skin, his thumbs tracing the curve of her breasts before thumbing the peaks of her nipples. She moaned into him and gave another firm buck of her hips. Ben tossed her onto the bed and kneeled over her ridding himself of his own clothes. 

Rey was a vision below him with her rosy cheeks and kiss bitten lips. He put his hands on the waistband of her pants, looking at her for her consent before pulling them down her legs. He pulled them down and realized she wasn’t wearing underwear and his cock bobbed at the enticement of it.

After divesting her of the last barriers he settled in the cradle of her hips. He kissed her mouth then moved his way slowly down her body. He wanted to learn as much as he could about what she liked. He listed for little hums and gasps. She giggled when he nuzzled at a soft spot on her belly because it tickled. She liked her nipples sucked and she bucked up against him when he nipped her breasts. He worked his way down to her pussy. He checked in with her again before nuzzling against the curls over her mound, his nose nudged against her clit.

“Bennn.” Rey’s hand went into his hair and tugged. He looked up at her, catching her gaze before licking a stripe through her center.

He groaned into her and she bucked at the added stimulation. He could feel and taste her arousal against his mouth, and he focused on how she responded to his actions. He wanted her to come for him in whatever way he could. 

He worked her clit with his tongue as he slid one of his fingers into her pussy, she keened and bucked and he added another before fucking her with them. He lapped at her clit and she pulled his hair almost painfully at one point. It only encouraged him. 

“Fuck Rey.” He said as he broke away from her to get on his knees and have a better angle. “Can you come like this sweetheart?” 

She squirmed and writhed, nodding. “So, close baby.” She breathed out and that was all Ben needed to get back to work, pressing into the spongy area of her front wall at each pass as he fucked her with his hand. He suckled at her clit a bit harder trying to give her added stimulation. 

“Yes, Ben, yes please… please.” Rey was a chanting mess and he groaned his own orgasm dangerously close for having no stimulation. The vibrations seemed to be enough to push her over the edge. He was trapped between her thighs and he pumped his fingers into her a few more times to help her ride out waves of her orgasm. When she finally released him, he crawled up to her and before he could even wipe her arousal from his mouth she pulled him down into a kiss. She pushed him over onto his back and kissed his chest, her tongue swiping circles around his nipple.

“Rey.” He gasped. “I don’t have any condoms.” He admitted reluctantly. She straddled his waist and he could feel her wet center against his stomach. 

“I’m clean and have an implant. You?” She smirked at him and he could have happily died right there.

“Clean.” 

She lined herself up with him and looked at him. He nodded eagerly and she sunk down onto him. The snug wet slide making his world tilt on it’s side.

“Fuck.” He breathed out. “You feel so good. I’m not going to last long, sweetheart. I need you to come. Show me how you come.” She nodded, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Her fingers circled her clit and he could feel her clench around him. He began thrusting into her his hips, slapping against her ass. He watched her tits bounce as he increased his pace. Every bit he saw of her tipping him closer to the edge.

“Fuck, Rey. Look at you. Can I come in you? So, close. So, close.”

“Yes, please, inside. Please.” She whimpered. 

She felt tighter as they were both getting close and he snapped his attention to her face, not wanting to miss the moment when she came.

“Yes, Rey. Come on my cock. Please, please.”

He gave a few more rough thrusts grinding into her when her brow pinched and she stiffened, she fell forward into his chest her nails digging into his pectoral. 

He could feel her rippling around his cock, and it was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced.

“Fuck, fuck fuck.” He chanted as he resumed his thrusts, before pulling her flush to his hips and releasing into her. The way she squirmed and writhed he knew she felt his cum. He could feel the combination of fluids drip out of her and down the seam of his thigh.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. He was sated, relaxed and happy. 

He must have fallen asleep because when he woke with a start Rey was gone. He had the covers draped over him. He looked around the space but didn’t see her. That was when he registered the shower was running. He relaxed a bit and laid back against the bed. 

His mind reeled a bit. Rey actually let him touch her and have sex with her. Was this a relationship? He wanted it to be. But if he was honest, he’d take whatever she was willing to give. He considered going into the shower to ask her but thought it’d be a bit presumptuous. Afterall, they’d only had sex once and she didn’t invite him to go with her… but the separation after so much time together made his skin feel tight. 

The humiliation from Friday night seemed like a dream. He wasn’t looking forward to everything they would have to do tomorrow to get his life back in order. He’d have to make time to go to HR to declare their relationship too.

A few minutes later he was drawn from his thoughts by the opening of the bathroom door. When Rey came out in a silky robe, he had hopes that whatever they were doing wasn’t done. 

“How was your nap?”

“Good, I didn’t even realize I fell asleep.” He said as he stretched out on the bed. 

She grinned at him.

“I was thinking of ordering Mexican.” She said, scrolling through her phone.

“Sure.” He got up out of bed deciding maybe he should shower, too. 

“What would you like?”

“Whatever you’re getting is fine. I’m not picky, just nothing too spicy.”

“Ok.” He leaned down and kissed her on the way to the shower, not wanting to leave her in question of his interest.

About 30 seconds later he decided he hated Rey’s shower. The shower head was just a little too short. He had to practically bend over to get his hair wet, but then the stall was so narrow that his elbows knocked into everything. He knocked over the shampoo at least 3 times.

After he finally got all of the soap rinsed off and put the containers where they belonged he walked back out into the bedroom with his towel wrapped around his hips and Rey looking at him as if she was trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead, you’ve been dying to laugh since Friday night.” She shook her head but then he could tell when she broke, her shoulders shook before she devolving into hysterical laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“It’s all so very funny.” He said dryly.

She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. His pride really had no choice but to hoist her over his shoulder and toss her onto the bed, tickling her ribs as punishment. She squealed and squirmed but continued to laugh.

He really tried not to join her in her giggle fit, but it was difficult. Despite his best efforts he burst into laughter, too. His cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing so much, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard. Their fun was interrupted when the buzzer sounded for the delivery guy. 

“Ope, I’ll go get it.” Rey was still wearing her silky robe and some primal part of him wanted to keep it to himself.

“No, I’ll go.” He said rushing to sit up.

“In a towel? You’re going to scandalize the old lady on the first floor.”

“Well, she better get used to it.” He said as he made his way down the stairs.

He must have startled to poor delivery guy when he opened the door. The guy gave him a once over before cocking his eyebrow and smirking as he handed Ben the bag of food.

It was then that Ben looked down to see nail marks on his chest and he felt his cheeks heat. 

He took their food back upstairs to find Rey grabbing plates.

She looked up at Ben. “What’s the matter?”

“I realize that I definitely look like I just had sex and the delivery driver noticed.” She paused and cocked her head, her face turning serious.

“Do you regret it?” He didn’t know if she meant over all or just giving the delivery driver a show, but he decided on neither.

“Not, a bit. I mean I feel bad for the delivery driver but I’m sure it comes with the territory.” He crowded her against the counter and leaned down to kiss her. 

“But I definitely don’t regret this.” He told her, making sure to look her in the eye as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“No? Not even with my tiny shower?” She grinned up at him.

“Not even, but may I put forth a request to have any sleepovers, that last more than a day, at my place? I do have an absolutely ginormous bathtub that you’d probably enjoy and can use whenever you want. Your shampoo bottles will thank you.”

“I would like to see it before making any final decisions.” She said a bit smugly and he knew he had gotten through her moment of doubt.

They spent the rest of their Sunday snuggling in her bed, tangled up in her sheets. They didn’t bother putting their clothes back on and ate a frozen pizza for dinner. He hated that they had to leave their little sanctuary and face the world again when morning came.

She was currently using his chest as a pillow, her arm draped over him and their legs tangled together. She had fallen asleep while they continued the series from the other night. Ben got the impression that she usually fell asleep with the TV on. It wasn’t a habit he had but it wasn’t something he’d keep her from doing either. So, he held her and watched as some guy sat on a desk chair wrapped in wrapping paper only for it to collapse under him. He huffed a laugh at the gag.

He was about to drift off when Rey twitched and began muttering in her sleep. Her brow pinched as if in pain. He watched as her eyes fluttered. She must have been dreaming. He watched her, assuming it would pass and ran his hand along her back. Then she jolted awake and blinked owlishly. He had gotten the impression she had been through a lot, maybe this is something she experienced often.

“Hey, you ok?” Ben asked.

Rey scowled a bit before laying back down. Ben turned to his side so that he could hold her properly and block her from the harsh light of the TV.

“Do you want to talk about it.” He muttered into her hair.

She shook her head no. He respected her decision, brushing his fingers through her hair and dropping kisses to her forehead. It wasn’t long before Rey fell back to sleep. Ben stayed up a little bit longer just to make sure she was ok.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben woke to the sounds of Rey in the shower. He decided on just getting dressed and leaving the rest for later. As much as he had to take care of today, it wasn’t like he’d be going into work anyway.

He saw a few messages from Poe and had just decided on calling him.

“Benny!”

Ben sighed it was too early for this.

“You left me messages.” Ben stated, his voice still rough from sleep.

“Yeah, how was your weekend?”

“It was fine.”

“Oh, fine you say? Sounds better than I was expecting. Did you and Rey finally work out that sexual tension that you guys keep bringing into morning meetings.”

“Just get to the point, Poe.” Ben really regretted his connections to Poe at times.

“Oh, I was just gonna say that I was able to get an earlier flight and I can be at your apartment in an hour with a spare key.”

“That sounds fine, we’ll meet you there.”

“We?” Poe sounded too interested and it made Ben uncomfortable.

“Poe what part of I don’t have a wallet or keys don’t you understand?”

“No need to get hostile.” He said in an attempt to diffuse Ben’s temper.

“Whatever, we’ll be there in an hour.”

Ben hung up without waiting for Poe’s response.

After Rey was ready for the day, they ate quick and spent too long kissing in the kitchen while the coffee brewed. They were running a bit late, leaving their little love bubble and but were finally on the way to Ben’s apartment.

They pulled up into his parking space and walked into the building.

Rey had never been here before, and he hoped that his apartment was relatively clean. It wasn’t that he was a messy person, but usually by Friday clutter would have the tendency to pile up.

When he walked into the lobby of the building, he saw Poe chatting with the building manager and his suspicions grew. They were too friendly, and Ben suddenly suspected things were not as they seemed.

“Hey guys!” Poe greeted when he spotted them, it was then Ben realized he had a duffle slung over his shoulder. “I’m so glad to see that Rey didn’t speed off and leave you to fend for yourself.” Poe’s eyes shifting amusedly between the two of them.

Ben watched as Rey crossed her arms in front of her chest, she seemed on alert, too. He wanted to be able to reach for her, soothe her, but Poe wasn’t who they wanted to announce their relationship to.

“Hey, sorry about that mix-up on Friday. Here’s all of your stuff. Wallet, keys, phone… I already talked to Katie, your building manager, and she’s canceled the re-keying of the building. “ Ben was a bit dumbfounded, trying to connect the pieces.

“How did you get this if you were gone all weekend?” Ben said, looking into the bag to make sure everything was accounted for.

“Oh, it was part of the plan. After Rey packed up her stuff, I hid her purse back in her desk. The stripper was an old friend, I was banking on you not calling the police.”

Ben saw red but before he could say anything Rey did.

“How could you do that to him? That was humiliating. And what if I didn’t come back that night? He would have been left there all weekend.” She was a vision wrapped in her fury. “Why would you do such a thing?” She had a look of disgust that Ben was glad wasn’t directed at him.

Poe just shrugged, unaffected. “I had guessed on the office pool that you two would be dating by today, I didn’t want to lose…. So, did I win?” Ben knew Poe was a bit cocky and selfish, but this took the cake. Ben was used to being Poe’s source of entertainment, but this took the cake. He had included Rey and he couldn’t have that. Ben had been aware of that fact that Poe found him amusing since that Sadie Hawkins dance in 7th grade. But in this moment, Ben just stared agape at the rather difficult person who was supposed be his friend smirk with confidence that they would answer him. 

However, while Ben was staring dumbly at someone who had been his friend and was like a brother to him, Rey moved like a blur and punched Poe square in the nose. Poe dropped like house of cards and Ben wrapped Rey around the waist to make sure that she didn’t do Poe any further harm. Ben would have liked to say that it was the first time he had seen Poe have his nose broken, but at least this time it wasn’t his doing.

She struggled against him a bit before she turned white as a sheet. 

“Oh my god.” She said covering her mouth. It was then the building manager came out of her office and fussed over Poe. 

“It’s fine. “ Poe said, albeit a bit nasally. “She didn’t even break it.” And he chuckled and got up. The building manager looking scandalized.

“Look, I’m going to need her to leave before I call the cops.” Rey tried to scramble away from him but he kept his arm wrapped around her. Afraid if she left now that he’d never see her again.

“No, I had it coming.” Poe said good naturedly. “Look Ben, I can see I stirred up a hornet’s nest so I’ll let you deal with that.” He winked at the building manager and sauntered out

“C’mon.” Ben said. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Ben led her to the elevator, hand placed protectively at the small of her back.

She was quiet the whole ride up to his apartment and he felt worry gnaw at his gut.

When they walked into the apartment, he watched her as she took in his space. She was nervous, he could see it in the movement of her hands, the slope of her shoulders and the look on her face.

“Rey? Are you ok?” He asked quietly.

“I don’t think I belong here.” She said not moving past the kitchen counter and throwing glances at the door.

“I think you do.” What if Poe’s stunt had given him a taste of what he wanted while taking it away just as quickly. He didn’t know if he could handle that.

“You have this really nice place, but I just punched the person who hired me. I’m going to get fired and I really don’t want to ruin…” She gestured wildly around her.

“Ruin what?” He was genuinely confused.

“This life you have. This apartment is so nice, I just. Maybe I don’t fit.”

“It’s just an apartment, if you don’t like it, I’ll move find something different.” He couldn’t stop the pleading tones in his voice. He was used to being told he was too much, or not enough, it would be nothing for him to change his address.

She scowled at him and he could feel her insecurities bubble to the surface.

“I-“

“Please, don’t let Poe ruin what we found, please.” He gestured for her to sit at the counter.

“Talk to me, please.” He could feel himself get choked with emotion, afraid of her leaving, nearly grieving the loss of her already.

She did him the honor of sitting down and he allowed himself a sigh of relief.

“Poe has always been difficult. If I had known, he did this on purpose I would have pressed him harder on Friday. I bet if I were to call my dad, my parents aren’t even on a cruise.”

“Why do you put up with it?” She asked, hurt in her voice.

“Habit? I had a falling out with my parents, then when my dad got into a big wreck I came back. Poe is part of the package deal, they adopted him when his mom died when we were 15. But if that’s not ok, I will set better boundaries with them, you won’t ever have to deal with them if you don’t want to. There was a reason I was estranged from them for so long.”

She nodded.

“Did they know?” He must have looked like he didn’t understand her meaning. “Did they know how you felt? Felt about me?”

“If they did it wasn’t because I told them.” That was a secret he had kept to himself.

“I know you drive a fancy car and assumed you had a nice place, but I just… It’s a lot.” 

“I don’t mean for it to be.”

“I punched our coworker in the nose, I’m going to get fired.” Rey said as if it was already a done deal.

Ben scoffed.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened to him. I may have broken his nose when we were 12 and then again when we were 17.”

She looked a bit shocked. 

“I’m sorry you got drug into this, I want to make it up to you, please let me.”

She grimaced.

“I need time to think. I’ll take you to your car and then I think I’m going to take a couple of days off work. Figure things out.”

He was panicking, swimming against a rip tide.

“Rey….” He breathed out, tears wetting his eyes.

“I just need time this is a lot for me to deal with.” 

An hour later and Rey had dropped him off at his car, while she went into the office to let them know she was taking the week off. Ben didn’t go in, opting to call in and then go get his laptop in the evening when nobody was around so he could work from home the rest of the week. If Rey wasn’t there what was the point?

He made sure to tell Poe to back off and put in his 2 weeks’ notice. He was unwilling to continue to be subjected to the whims of his family’s amusement. He had already had an argument with his mother, to her credit she agreed to respect his need to separate from Poe. Poe gave a half-hearted apology and then complained about losing the pool. 

So, come Friday his apartment was a mess. He had barely opened his laptop to work and his living room and kitchen were littered with empty take out containers and he hadn’t showered for the whole week. He respected Rey’s boundaries, he left her alone to let her think. Too bad the only way he could do that was to throw his phone off the balcony, that was the only time he left the building, to clean up the shattered mess of his life off of the sidewalk. 

So, he was surprised Friday morning when there was a knock on his door. He grumbled to himself as he pulled himself off the couch, his joints ached from being so sedentary the past few days.

He opened the door to see Rey, in leggings and a tank top. She looked like she hadn’t been sleeping either. 

“You quit?! And couldn’t even be bothered to tell me?” A look of betrayal marred her features and he knew he was responsible for that. She shoved past him on her way into the apartment and started pacing.

“I thought things were different! I thought you were going to be different!” She was talking wildly with her hands and he may have found himself to be mesmerized if he wasn’t so fearful of what would happen next.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He said quietly. “I didn’t call because I don’t have a phone right now.”

She looked at him, a bit wild with bewilderment.

“I put in my two weeks’ notice because I didn’t think it was fair for you to have to leave, or for you to have to be in the middle of my family drama. So, I figured I’d take myself out of the equation and you could just work. I didn’t call because the only way I could respect the space you asked for was to not have a phone. I kept wanting to text you, call you… but was afraid of pushing you away… so my phone is shattered into a million pieces and I should have a new one on Monday.” He struggled to keep eye contact in his shame.

“So, you didn’t get my messages?” She asked softly.

He was truly an idiot. He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes again. He swallowed thickly.

“I told you that I wanted to see you, and then when you didn’t answer…” She sobbed.

“You wanted to see me?” He allowed himself to feel hope.

She nodded.

“When?” He had missed out on spending time with her. What did he miss in that time, what if she’d had to much time and changed her mind.

“Wednesday.” He winced, that was 2 days ago. That was a whole 48 hours that he could have spent with her.

“I called work, but they said you’d been working from home and that you were quitting.” Tears filled her eyes then and he dug his nails into his palm to try to control himself. He felt like his skin was on fire.

Her chin wobbled.

“Did you change your mind about me?” She asked as a tear slid down her cheek and he shook his head. He waited a breath too long to move toward her before wrapping her up. She was tense and didn’t return his hold. 

“That’s not… I’m so sorry, Rey. I want you. That didn’t change I swear. It won’t ever change.” A tear slid down his cheek and landed in her hair. Rey shuddered, breathed in and finally wrapped her arms around his waist. It was then that he finally felt like he could breathe for the first time since Monday morning.

They stood there for a while, Ben just letting himself be relieved that she came back to him at all. 

He tugged her over to the couch after a while and pulled her to sit in his lap.

“I’m sorry, about my family, that they turned you into a pawn in all of this.”

“It isn’t your fault. You didn’t know.” 

“I should have. They’ve pulled outlandish stunts before.”

“What are you gonna do?

“I don’t know. I’ve thought about starting my own consulting firm. I could probably use an administrative assistant in the next 6 months or so.” He watched her mouth quirk into a smile.

“We’ll see. I’m a very demanding employee.” She said softly.

“You’re absolutely priceless.” He said, squeezing her a bit tighter.

She reached up to kiss him and he pulled back.

“Sweetheart, as much as I like where you’re going with that I haven’t showered in days. Please let me go shower or wash up, something.” 

She huffed a laugh and he watched as a devious smirk crossed her face.

“I hear you have a tub that I can use whenever I want.” He was a bit surprised but wasn’t about to take back anything he had promised her. He lifted her up with him when he stood up, carrying her to the bathroom. He set her on the counter, and he watched as she looked around her.

“Your bathroom is bigger than my whole living room.”

He looked at her a bit indulgently as he turned and started running the bathwater. 

“What, I can exaggerate a bit.” She shrugged.

“Your apartment is fine. We can stay there whenever you want.” He said over the rush of water. 

So that was how their weekend and their life together started.

They washed each other and relished in the other person’s presence until the water cooled. Ben dried her off before he sent her to his room. He tidied the kitchen and ordered them take out. 

The rest of the weekend was spent planning their next steps and making up for being without each other during the work day. 

That night Rey slept draped over Ben’s chest and he allowed himself to feel relief and hope, believing that if they could get through this, they could get through anything.

\--

One year later

Ben was nervous. His hands were clammy, and his dress shirt was becoming damp under his suit jacket. He didn’t know why he knew that it would go according to plan… within reason of course. 

The past year had been a whirlwind. He started his own consultation company and made things official with Rey. Sometimes it was hard to juggle, but she was always understanding and supportive of him to get his company off the ground. Unfortunately, it had taken longer for him to get to a point where he could justify bringing her on, but it was looking like she would be able to start in the next 6 weeks or so. 

Tonight, though, tonight was special. He had rented the rooftop of their favorite restaurant. Everyone he knew that could possibly interfere were out of town, on trips he had gifted them for Christmas.

Soft music was playing when she finally came up to the rooftop, the fairy lights casting her in a light that made her look ethereal. 

When their eyes met, she beamed at him and he could see her eyes become a bit glassy with tears. 

He took her in, her hair done up in simple braids that he had put in a few hours ago, little wisps of hair curling around her temple and nape. Her tea length dress showing off her lean legs that had just been wrapped around him last night. 

The flowers she held didn’t compare to her, not even a bit.

When she finally walked up to him the music stopped and he was finally able to touch her.

“Dearly beloved we are gathered here today, tonight rather, to see these two people joined in matrimony.”

His heart was full. He stumbled over his vows a bit, but everything else was perfect. Somehow his worst moment became his best. 


End file.
